Apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided comprising an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of types of measurement data indicating a state of a target, a supplying unit configured to supply, in response to the plurality of types of measurement data being input, measurement data acquired by the acquisition unit to a model that outputs a state indication value indicating a quality of a state of the target, a setting unit configured to set, as data to be displayed, at least one piece of measurement data, among the plurality of types of measurement data, having a larger influence on the state indication value than a reference, and a display control unit configured to display the state indication value output from the model along with a measurement value of the data to be displayed.

The contents of the following Japanese patent application(s) areincorporated herein by reference:

-   2021-054166 filed in JP on Mar. 26, 2021

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and acomputer-readable medium.

2. Related Art

Patent document 1 describes that “the output unit 12 c outputs, withsensor data collected by the collection unit 12 a as an input, theabnormality degree of each detection target equipment 20, respectively,by using each model.

Prior Art Document Patent Document

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 6453504

SUMMARY

The first aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus. Theapparatus may include an acquisition unit configured to acquire aplurality of types of measurement data indicating a state of a target.The apparatus may include a supplying unit configured to supply, inresponse to the plurality of types of measurement data being input,measurement data acquired by the acquisition unit to a model thatoutputs a state indication value indicating a quality of a state of thetarget. The apparatus may include a setting unit configured to set, asdata to be displayed, at least one piece of measurement data, among theplurality of types of measurement data, having a larger influence on thestate indication value than a reference. The apparatus may include adisplay control unit configured to display the state indication valueoutput from the model along with a measurement value of the data to bedisplayed.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a method. The methodmay include setting, as data to be displayed, at least one piece ofmeasurement data having a larger influence than a reference on a stateindication value indicating a quality of a state of a target that isoutput from a model in response to a plurality of types of measurementdata indicating a state of the target being input. The method mayinclude acquiring the plurality of types of measurement data. The methodmay include supplying, to the model, the measurement data acquired inthe acquiring step. The method may include controlling display bydisplaying the state indication value output from the model along with ameasurement value of the data to be displayed.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readablemedium having recorded thereon a program. The program may cause thecomputer to function as an acquisition unit configured to acquire aplurality of types of measurement data indicating a state of a target.The program may cause the computer to function as a supplying unitconfigured to supply, in response to the plurality of types ofmeasurement data being input, measurement data acquired by theacquisition unit to a model that outputs a state indication valueindicating a quality of a state of the target. The program may cause thecomputer to function as a setting unit configured to set, as data to bedisplayed, at least one piece of measurement data, among the pluralityof types of measurement data, having a larger influence on the stateindication value than a reference. The program may cause the computer tofunction as a display control unit configured to display the stateindication value output from the model along with a measurement value ofthe data to be displayed.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readablemedium having recorded a program. The program may cause the computer tofunction as a setting unit configured to set, as data to be displayed,at least one piece of measurement data having a larger influence on thestate indication value of a model that outputs a state indication valueindicating a quality of a state of the target than a reference, inresponse to a plurality of types of measurement data indicating thestate of the target being input. The program may cause the computer tofunction as a display control unit configured to display the stateindication value output from the model along with a measurement value ofthe data to be displayed.

The summary clause does not necessarily describe all necessary featuresof the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention mayalso be a sub-combination of the features described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an operation of an apparatus 4.

FIG. 3 illustrates a transition of the state indication value.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a display screen.

FIG. 5 illustrates another display example of data to be displayed.

FIG. 6 illustrates another display example of data to be displayed.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer 2200 in which a plurality ofaspects of the present invention may be entirely or partially embodied.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodimentsof the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit theinvention according to the claims. In addition, not all combinations offeatures described in the embodiments are essential to the solution ofthe invention.

1. Configuration of System 1

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 1 according to the present embodiment. Thesystem 1 assists monitoring of a state of a target, and includes afacility 2 and an apparatus 4 as examples of the target.

1.1 Facility 2

The facility 2 is provided with one or more sensors 20. For example, thefacility 2 may be a plant provided with a plurality of equipment 21, ormay be a combined apparatus in which a plurality of equipment 21 iscombined. Examples of the plant include, in addition to industrialplants such as chemical plants and bio plants, plants that manage andcontrol well sources such as gas fields and oil fields and surroundingsthereof, plants that manage and control power generation such ashydraulic power, thermal power, and nuclear power, plants that manageand control environmental power generation such as solar power and windpower, and plants that manage and control water supplies/sewage, dams,and the like.

1.1-1. Equipment 21

Each piece of equipment 21 is an instrument, a machine, or an apparatus,and may be, for example, an actuator such as a valve, a pump, a heater,a fan, a motor, or a switch that controls at least one physical quantitysuch as pressure, temperature, pH, speed, or flow rate in a process ofthe facility 2. Respective pieces of equipment 21 may be of differenttypes, or at least some (two or more) pieces of equipment 21 may be ofthe same type. In the present embodiment, as one example, the equipment21 is controlled from the outside in a wired or wireless manner, but maybe controlled manually.

1.1-2. Sensor 20

Each sensor 20 measures the state of the facility 2. The sensor 20 maymeasure at least one physical quantity such as pressure, temperature,pH, speed, flow rate, and the like.

In addition, the sensor 20 may measure the yield of the facility 2, theproportion of impurities to be mixed, the operation status of each pieceof equipment 21, and the like. Respective sensors 20 may be of differenttypes, or at least some (two or more) of the sensors 20 may be of thesame type. As one example, the plurality of sensors 20 may be atemperature sensor provided at separate locations in a furnace withinthe facility 2. Each sensor 20 may supply the measurement data to theapparatus 4.

It should be noted that, communication between the sensor 20 and theapparatus 4 may be performed, for example, with an ISA (InternationalSociety of Automation) wireless communication protocol, and may beperformed using ISA 100, HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer)(registered trademark), BRAIN (registered trademark), FOUNDATIONFieldbus, PROFIBUS, or the like, as one example.

1.2. Apparatus 4

The apparatus 4 assists monitoring of the facility 2 by using a learnedmodel 431. The apparatus 4 has an acquisition unit 401, a supplying unit402, a storage unit 403, an input unit 404, a labeling unit 405, asetting unit 406, a sign detection unit 407, an identification unit 408,a display control unit 409, and a display unit 410.

1.2-.1. Acquisition Unit 401

The acquisition unit 401 acquires a plurality of types of measurementdata indicating a state of the facility 2. The acquisition unit 401 maysequentially acquire each type of measurement data from each sensor 20.It should be noted that, the type of measurement data may be differentfor each sensor 20, as one example in the present embodiment, but may bedifferent depending on physical quantities to be measured. Theacquisition unit 401 may supply the acquired measurement data to thesupplying unit 41.

1.2-2. Supplying Unit 402

The supplying unit 402 supplies the measurement data acquired by theacquisition unit 401 to the model 431. In the present embodiment, as oneexample, the model 431 is stored in the storage unit 403 describedlater, and the supplying unit 402 may supply the measurement data to themodel 431 in the storage unit 403.

In addition, the supplying unit 402 may store the measurement data inthe storage unit 403. The supplying unit 402 may add to the measurementdata the measurement time and the identification information of thesensor 20 for which the measurement was performed, and record the samein the storage unit 43. The measurement time of the measurement data maybe the time at which measurement for said measurement data wasperformed, and may indicate the elapsed time from the starting time ofthe processing executed at the facility 2. The measurement time of themeasurement data may be the acquisition time of the measurement data bythe acquisition unit 401. It should be noted that, the measurement timeand the identification information of the sensor 20 may be added inadvance to the measurement data supplied from the sensor 20.

1.2-3. Storage Unit 403

The storage unit 403 stores various types of information. For example,the storage unit 43 may store a measurement data file 430, a learnedmodel 431, and a correspondence table 432.

1.2-3-2. Measurement Data File 430

The measurement data file 430 stores the measurement data supplied fromthe supplying unit 402.

1.2-3-1. Model 431

The model 431 outputs a state indication value indicating the quality ofa state of the facility 2 in response to the plurality of types ofmeasurement data being input. The model 431 may output the stateindication value (also referred to as a health index) that is notbinarized into a value indicating that the target is in a good state anda value indicating that the target is in a poor state. For example, themodel 431 may be a model for which learning have been performed usingbinary with a value indicating that the facility 2 is in a good stateand a value indicating that the facility 2 is in a poor state, and mayoutput a state indication value before binarizing by comparison with thethreshold. In the present embodiment, as one example, the stateindication value may be a positive value when the facility 2 is in agood state (or when it is in a nearly good state), and the stateindication value may be a negative value when the facility 2 is in apoor state (or when it is in a nearly poor state). The model 431 may bea support vector machine, for example, but may also be a model for whichlearning have been performed by other algorithms such as logisticregression, decision tree, or neural network.

1.2-3-3. Correspondence Table 432

The correspondence table 432 associates an operation for improving themeasurement value of said measurement data (also referred to asimprovement operation) with each type of measurement data for whichmeasurement is performed by the sensor 20, and stores the same. Theimprovement operation may be operation of any equipment 21 in thefacility 2, and may be an operation of equipment 21 that is directlyrelated to the measurement value of the target to be improved, or may bean operation of the equipment 21 that is not directly related. As oneexample, in a case where the measurement value for the measurement dataof the temperature is too high, the improvement operation for improvingsaid measurement value may be an operation to lower the output of aheater near the measurement location, may be an operation to change theopening of a valve for adjusting the flow rate of a fluid flowing nearthe measurement location, or may be an operation to change a set pointof flowmeter for measuring said flow rate. The content of thecorrespondence table 432 may be preset through trial and error.

1.2-4. Input Unit 404

The input unit 404 receives operation input from the operator. In thepresent embodiment, as one example, in a case where the measurement datais displayed, the input unit 404 may receive an operation for providingthe measurement data with a label indicating the quality of a state ofthe facility 2. The input unit 404 may supply a signal indicating thatthe operation has been performed to the labeling unit 405.

1.2-5. Labeling Unit 405

The labeling unit 405 provides each piece of measurement data with alabel indicating a quality of a state of the facility 2 in response toan operation by the operator. The labeling unit 405 may provide acorresponding piece of measurement data in the storage unit 403 with alabel indicating a good state or a poor state.

1.2-6. Setting Unit 406

The setting unit 406 sets, as data to be displayed, at least one pieceof measurement data, among the plurality of types of measurement data,having a larger influence on the state indication value than areference. The data to be displayed may become important data inmonitoring the facility 2.

The setting unit 406 may set, as the data to be displayed, measurementdata of a reference number (the top five pieces as one example in thepresent embodiment) having the largest degree of influence on the stateindication value, among the plurality of types of measurement data. Inthis case, the setting unit 406 may set, as the reference degree, thelarger influence degrees in order from the reference number+1, among theinfluence degree of each piece of measurement data. The influence degreeof each type of measurement data on the state indication value may becalculated, for example, by conventionally known techniques, such asPermutation Importance, LIME or the like. The setting unit 406 mayprovide the measurement data that is the data to be displayed, amongeach type of setting data in the storage unit 403, with a tag indicatingthe it is the data to be displayed.

The setting unit 406 may calculate the degree of influence on the stateindication value for each type of measurement data, to set the data tobe displayed. Alternatively, the setting unit 406 may set, as the datato be displayed, measurement data specified by the operator via theinput unit 404.

1.2-7. Sign Detection Unit 407

The sign detection unit 407 is one example of the detection unit, anddetects a sign indicating that a state of the facility 2 is becomingpoor based on a transition of the state indication value. For example,the sign detection unit 407 may compare the distribution of the stateindication value in the most recent period with a reference distributionto detect a sign. In the present embodiment, as one example, the signdetection unit 407 may detect that there is a sign in response to thedistribution within the most recent reference time period becominggreater than the reference distribution. The reference time period andthe reference distribution may be set arbitrarily. The sign detectionunit 407 may supply the detection result of the sign to theidentification unit 408 and the display control unit 409.

1.2-8. Identification Unit 408

The identification unit 408 identifies the type of measurement data thatcaused the poor state (also referred to as factor data), in a case whereit is indicated by the state indication value that the facility 2 is ina poorer state than the reference. In the present embodiment, as oneexample, the identification unit 408 may use, as the reference foridentifying the factor data, whether a sign of poor state is detected bythe sign detection unit 407, and may identify the factor data in a casewhere the sign is detected.

The identification unit 408 may identify, as the factor data, themeasurement data having the largest amount of deviation from therepresentative value (as one example, the average value, the median orthe mode) of each piece of measurement data when the facility 2 is in agood state. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, as oneexample, the representative value is calculated by the identificationunit 408, but it may be stored in the storage unit 403 in advance as afixed value.

In addition, the identification unit 408 may further identify animprovement operation for improving the measurement value of the factordata. The identification unit 408 may identify the improvement operationassociated with the type of factor data in the correspondence table 432.The identification unit may supply the representative value of eachpiece of data to be displayed and the content of the improvementoperation to the display control unit 409.

1.2-9. Display Control Unit 409

The display control unit 409 controls the display unit 410. The displaycontrol unit 409 may display the state indication value output from themodel 431 along with the measurement value of the data to be displayed.Displaying the state indication value along with the measurement valuemay mean to display them together. As one example, the display controlunit 409 may display the state indication value and the measurementvalue on the same screen of the display unit 410, or may display them ona separate screen.

The display control unit 409 may display the state indication value atone point in time (the latest state indication value, as one example),or may display the state indication value at a plurality of points intime. In a case where the state indication value at a plurality ofpoints in time is displayed, the display control unit 409 may displaythe transition in the state indication value output from the model 431at the most recent plurality of points in time.

In addition, the display control unit 409 may display only onemeasurement value for each type of data to be displayed, or may displaya plurality of measurement values. In a case where only one measurementvalue is displayed for one type of data to be displayed, the displaycontrol unit 409 may display the measurement value measured at one pointin time (the latest measurement value, as one example), or may displaythe moving average value of the measurement value measured at aplurality of points in time (the moving average value during the mostrecent period, as one example). In a case where a plurality ofmeasurement values are displayed for one type of data to be displayed,the display control unit 409 may display the transition in themeasurement value measured at the most recent plurality of points intime.

The display control unit 409 may display the representative value of ameasurement value of each piece of data to be displayed when thefacility 2 is in a good state, and the measurement value of the data tobe displayed together. The display control unit 409 may display themeasurement value and the representative value in association with eachother for each type of data to be displayed.

The display control unit 409 may further display that a sign indicatingthat a state of the facility 2 is becoming poor has been detected by thesign detection unit 407. For example, the display control unit 409 maydisplay a message indicating that the sign has been detected.

The display control unit 409 may further display the improvementoperation for improving the factor data that caused the poor state. Inthe present embodiment, as one example, the display control unit 409 maydisplay the content of the improvement operation identified by theidentification unit 408.

1.2-10. Display Unit 410

The display unit 410 performs display under control by the displaycontrol unit 409. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, asone example, the display unit 410 is equipped in the apparatus 4, butmay be externally connected to the apparatus 4.

According to the apparatus 4 in the system 1 described above, the stateindication value of the facility 2 is output from the model 431 inresponse to the measurement data being input, and said state indicationvalue is displayed along with the measurement value of the data to bedisplayed having a larger influence on the state indication value.Therefore, the state of the facility 2 and the important measurementvalues with respect to the state can be collectively checked.

In addition, since the representative value of the measurement value ofeach piece of data to be displayed when the facility 2 is in a goodstate is displayed together with the measurement value of the data to bedisplayed, it can be immediately grasped how much the measurement valueof the data to be displayed is deviated from the representative value.

In addition, since the measurement data of a reference number, among theplurality of types of measurement data, having the largest degree ofinfluence on the state indication value is set as the data to bedisplayed, by setting, in advance as the reference number, a number ofmeasurement data that can be grasped by the operator, in a case of apoor state, it can be ensured that the measurement data causing thefailure is identified.

In addition, since the model 431 outputs the state indication value thatis not binarized into a value indicating that the facility 2 is in agood state and a value indicating that the facility 2 is in a poorstate, it is possible to grasp the degree of the state being good orpoor.

In addition, in a case where, for each type of measurement data (as oneexample, the data to be displayed), an operation for improving themeasurement value for said measurement data is stored in associationtherewith and the state indication value indicating that the state offacility 2 is poor is displayed, the operation associated with the typeof measurement data that caused the poor state is displayed. Therefore,an operation for improving the state can be grasped and executedimmediately.

In addition, since the sign indicating that a state of the facility 2 isbecoming poor is detected and displayed based on the transition in thestate indication value, the poor state can be grasped in advance.

In addition, since the sign is detect in response to the distribution ofthe state indication value in the most recent period becoming greaterthan the reference distribution, the sign can be detected in response tovariation and fluctuation in the state indication value.

2. Operation

FIG. 2 illustrates an operation of an apparatus 4. The apparatus 4assists monitoring of the facility 2 by the processing of steps S11 toS33. It should be noted that, this operation may start in response tothe facility 2 being activated. In addition, at the starting time pointof the operation, the model 431 may be stored in the storage unit 403.In addition, at least one (as one example in the present embodiment,five) of the measurement data, among the plurality of types ofmeasurement data measured at the facility 2, having a larger influenceon the state indication value than the reference may be preset as thedata to be displayed.

At step S11, the acquisition unit 401 acquires a plurality of types ofmeasurement data indicating a state of the facility 2.

At step S13, the supplying unit 402 supplies the acquired measurementdata to the model 431. In addition, the supplying unit 402 may cause themeasurement data to be stored in the storage unit 403.

At step S15, the identification unit 408 calculates a representativevalue (as one example, the average value, the median, the mode) of eachpiece of measurement data when the facility 2 is in a good state. Theidentification unit 408 may calculate the representative value from themeasurement data, among the measurement data stored in the storage unit403, provided with a label indicating that the facility 2 was in a goodstate.

At step S17, the model 431 outputs, to the display control unit 409 andthe sign detection unit 407, a state indication value according to theplurality of types of measurement data that was supplied. In the presentembodiment, as one example, the model 431 may output a state indicationvalue that is not binarized. In addition, the model 431 may output astate indication value according to a plurality of types of time seriesmeasurement data measured at one point in time, but the may output astate indication value according to a plurality of types of time seriesmeasurement data measured at a plurality of point in time.

At step S19, based on the transition in the state indication value, thesign detection unit 407 of the apparatus 4 attempts to detect a signindicating that a state of the facility 2 is becoming poor, anddetermines whether the sign has been detected. When it is determinedthat the sign has been detected (step S19: Yes), the processing mayproceed to step S31. When it is determined that the sign is not detected(step S19: No), the processing may proceed to step S23.

At step S23, the display control unit 409 displays, on the display unit410, the state indication value output from the model 431 to bedisplayed along with the measurement value of the data to be displayed.The display control unit 409 may read and display the data to bedisplayed that has been set as the display target by the setting unit406 in advance, among the variety of types of measurement data stored inthe storage unit 403.

In addition, the display control unit 409 displays the representativevalue of a measurement value of each piece of data to be displayed whenthe facility 2 is in a good state, and the measurement value of the datato be displayed together. In addition, the display control unit 409 maydisplay, for each piece of data to be displayed, the representativevalue thereof and the most recent measurement value as a graph. Thegraph may be a bar chart or may be a radar chart. The display controlunit 409 may display a scale indicating the reference divergence fromthe representative value in the graph. The reference divergence may be1σ, 2σ, or 3σ when the distribution of measurement value in themeasurement data is considered to be a normal distribution. σ may be astandard deviation of the measurement value.

At step S25, the labeling unit 405 provides each piece of measurementdata measured at a point in time specified by the operator with a label.The specified time point may be the current time point, or may be apoint in time at which the data to be displayed that is displayed or themeasurement data corresponding to the state indication value wasmeasured. In addition, the specified time point may be one point intime, or may be a plurality of points in time that are consecutive orinconsecutive.

For example, in a case where any of the data to be displayed that arecurrently displayed or the state indication value is designated by theoperator via the input unit 404, the labeling unit 405 may identify, asthe specified time point, the measurement time of the data to bedisplayed that is the specified target, or the measurement time of thedata to be displayed corresponding to the state indication value that isthe specified target. The labeling unit 405 may provide each piece ofmeasurement data (as one example, the measurement data set as the datato be displayed, and measurement data not set as the data to bedisplayed) in the storage unit 403 that was measured at the identifiedmeasurement time with a label.

In response to an operation indicating a good state being performed onthe input unit 404, the labeling unit 405 may provide the measurementdata with a label indicating the same. Similarly, in response to anoperation indicating a poor state being performed on the input unit 404,the labeling unit 405 may provide the measurement data with a labelindicating the same. When the processing of step S25 is ended, theprocessing may proceed to step S11.

At step S31, the identification unit 408 identifies a factor data thatcaused the poor state, and further identifies an improvement operationfor improving the measurement value of the factor data. Theidentification unit 408 may identify the factor data, among theplurality of data to be displayed, based on the tag of the data to bedisplayed with which the measurement data is provided in the storageunit 403.

At step S33, similarly to the processing at step S23, the displaycontrol unit 409 displays, on the display unit 410, the state indicationvalue output from the model 431 to be displayed along with themeasurement value of the data to be displayed.

Note that, in the processing of step S33, the display control unit 409may further display a message indicating that a sign of a poor state hasbeen detected. In addition, instead of display the plurality of data tobe displayed together with the state indication value, the displaycontrol unit 409 may display only the factor data, among the pluralityof data to be displayed, that caused the poor state together with thestate indication value. In addition, the display control unit 409 mayfurther display the improvement operation for improving the factor data.When the processing of step S33 is ended, the processing may proceed tostep S25.

According to the operation described above, since, for each piece ofdata to be displayed, the representative value thereof and the mostrecent measurement value are displayed as a graph, it is possible toeasily grasp the degree of deviation of the most recent measurementvalue of the data to be displayed from the representative value.

In addition, since a scale indicating the reference divergence from therepresentative value is display in the graph, it is possible to furthereasily grasp the degree of degree of deviation of the most recentmeasurement value of the data to be displayed from the representativevalue.

In addition, since the measurement data is provided with a labelindicating the quality of the state of the target, learning of the model431 can be performed using the measurement data provided with the label.In addition, since each piece of measurement data measured at a point intime specified by the operator is provided with a label, provision ofthe label can be performed easily.

3. Operation Example

FIG. 3 illustrates a transition in the state indication value. In thefigure, the horizontal axis indicates the time and the vertical axisindicates the state indication value. As illustrated in this figure, itis detected that there is a sign of a poor state as the distribution inthe state indication value becomes larger. In this way, it is possibleto grasp in advance that the state is becoming poor.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a display screen. The transition in thestate indication value and a plurality of data to be displayed may bedisplayed on the display screen of the display unit 410. In the presentdrawing, as one example, the transition in the state indication value,that is, the health index is displayed on the left side of the displayscreen, and the most recent measurement value of each of the data to bedisplayed “A” to “E” and the representative value thereof are displayedon the right side of the display screen as a bar chart arrangedvertically.

In addition, a pull-down menu P for selecting a display target period ofthe state indication value is may be displayed on the display screen.When any period is selected by the selection in the pull-down menu P,the state indication value during that period and the data to bedisplayed at the ending time point of that period may be displayed. Itshould be noted that, in the present drawing, as one example, “Last”mean the most recent period is selected in the pull-down menu P, and thestate indication value during the most recent period and the data to bedisplayed at the most recent point in time are displayed.

In addition, a quality button B for selecting the type of the label tobe provided to the measurement data may be displayed on the displayscreen. The quality button B may include an “OK” button and an “NG”button, and the when the “OK” or “NG” button is operated, each piece ofthe latest measurement data may be provided with a label indicating thatthe state of the facility 2 was good or poor.

In addition, in response to an operation by the operator, a grid line Wspecifying any period within the display target period may be displayedon the display screen. The grid line W may specify the range of at leastpart of the transition in the state indication value or the data to bedisplayed at a plurality of points in time. A label may be provided toeach piece of measurement data measured within the period specified withthe grid line W by the labeling unit 405 in response to an operation ofthe quality button B.

FIG. 5 illustrates another display example of the data to be displayed.A scale indicating a reference divergence from the representative valuemay be displayed in the graph of the data to be displayed. In thepresent drawing, as one example, a scale indicating a section that isapart from the average value by a or 2 a is displayed.

FIG. 6 illustrates another display example of the data to be displayed.The representative value and the most recent measurement value of thedata to be displayed may be displayed as graph in a radar chart format.

4. Variation Example

It should be noted that, in the embodiments described above, descriptionhas been made with the apparatus 4 having the storage unit 403, theinput unit 404, the labeling unit 405, the sign detection unit 407, theidentification unit 408, and the display unit 410, but the apparatus 4may not include any of the above. For example, in a case where theapparatus 4 does not include a storage unit 403, the apparatus 4 may beexternally connected to a storage apparatus that stores the content Inthe same manner as the storage unit 403.

In addition, description has been made with the identification unit 408identifying the improvement operation when a sign of poor state isdetected, but it may identify the improvement operation when the stateindication value is lower than the threshold.

In addition, description has been made with the sign detection unit 407detecting a sign by comparing the distribution of the state indicationvalue with the reference distribution, but additionally, oralternatively, the sign detection unit 407 may detect the sign bycomparing the state indication value with a preset threshold. In a casewhere the sign is detected by comparison of the distribution of the andthe state indication value and the reference distribution, andcomparison of the state indication value and the threshold, the sign maybe detected by taking a logical sum of the two comparison results, orthe sign may be detected by taking the logical product thereof. In acase where the state indication value and the threshold are compared,the sign detection unit 407 may detect the sign by comparing the movingaverage of the state indication value and a preset threshold. The movingaverage of the state indication value may be the moving average of thestate indication value output from the model 431 during the referencetime period, or may be the moving average of the state indication valueoutput during the most recent reference time period, as one example. Ina case where the sign is detected by comparing the moving average of thestate indication value and the threshold, detection of the sign can beprevented from becoming unstable in response to the variation in thestate indication value near the threshold. Here, the threshold may beset based on the boundary value between the state indication valueindicating that the facility 2 is in a good state and the stateindication value indicating that the facility 2 is in a poor state. Asone example, in a case where the state indication value indicating thatthe facility 2 is in a good state is a positive value, the stateindication value indicating that the facility 2 is in a poor state is anegative value, and the boundary value is zero, the threshold may be apositive value obtained by adding a reference margin to zero.

In addition, description has been made as the setting unit 406 setting,as the data to be displayed, measurement data of a reference number (asone example, five) having the largest degree of influence on the stateindication value, but the setting unit 406 may set, as the data to bedisplayed, any measurement data selected by the operator. In addition,the setting unit 406 may set, as the data to be displayed, measurementdata having a larger degree of influence on the state indication valuethan a reference degree, among the plurality of types of measurementdata, and further, may set, as the data to be displayed, measurementdata of a reference number having the largest amount of deviationbetween the representative value of the measurement value when thefacility 2 is in a good state and the most recent measurement value. Ina case where the measurement data having a larger degree of influence onthe state indication value than the reference influence degree is set asthe data to be displayed, it is possible to prevent measurement datahaving a small degree of influence from being displayed. Therefore, inthe event of a poor state, it can be ensured that the measurement datathat caused it is identified. In a case where the measurement data of areference number having the largest amount of deviation is set as thedata to be displayed, since the data to be displayed is reduced to areference number, in the event of a poor state, the measurement datathat caused it can be easily identified. It should be noted that, thereference degree may be any degree, and may be preset by the operator orthe like.

In addition, description has been made as the representative value ofthe measurement data being calculated by the identification unit 408each time the processing of step S15 is performed, but therepresentative value of the measurement data may be calculated inadvance based on past measurement data measured when the facility 2 wasin a good state and stored in the storage unit 403.

In addition, description has been made with the facility 2 as thetarget, but the target may be other objects. For example, the target maybe a product produced at the facility 2, the target may be equipment oran apparatus that is not fixed and is movable, may be a natural objectsuch as a living body, may be natural environment such as the weather ortopography, or may be natural phenomenon such as chemical reactions orbiochemical reactions.

In addition, various embodiments of the present invention may bedescribed with reference to flow charts and block diagrams, where blocksmay represent (1) steps of processes in which operations are executed or(2) sections of apparatuses responsible for performing operations.Certain steps and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry,programmable circuitry supplied with computer-readable instructionsstored on computer-readable media, and/or processors supplied withcomputer-readable instructions stored on computer-readable media. Notethat dedicated circuitry may include digital and/or analog hardwarecircuits, and may include integrated circuits (IC) and/or discretecircuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardwarecircuits comprising logical AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logicaloperations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements, etc., such asfield-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic arrays (PLA),and the like.

A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device that canstore instructions to be executed by a suitable device, and as a result,the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereoncomprises an article of manufacture including instructions which can beexecuted to create means for performing operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media mayinclude an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, anoptical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, asemiconductor storage medium, etc. More specific examples of thecomputer-readable medium may include a Floppy (registered trademark)disk, a diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-onlymemory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a BLU-RAY (registeredtrademark) disc, a memory stick, an integrated circuit card, and thelike.

Computer-readable instructions may include assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk (registered trademark),JAVA (registered trademark), C++, etc., and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages.

Computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, or to a programmable circuitry,locally or via a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) suchas the Internet, or the like, to execute the computer-readableinstructions to create means for performing operations specified in theflow charts or block diagrams. Examples of the processor include acomputer processor, a processing unit, a microprocessor, a digitalsignal processor, a controller, a microcontroller, and the like.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the computer 2200 in which a pluralityof aspects of the present invention entirely or partially may beembodied. A program installed on the computer 2200 can cause thecomputer 2200 to function as an operation associated with an apparatusaccording to embodiments of the present invention or as one or more“unit(s)” of the apparatus, or to perform the operation or the one ormore “unit(s)”, and/or can cause the computer 2200 to perform processesaccording to embodiments of the present invention or steps of theprocesses. Such a program may be executed by a CPU 2212 to cause thecomputer 2200 to perform particular operations associated with some orall blocks in the flow charts or block diagrams described herein.

The computer 2200 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU2212, a RAM 2214, a graphics controller 2216 and a display device 2218,which are connected to each other by a host controller 2210. Thecomputer 2200 also includes input/output units such as a communicationinterface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226 and an ICcard drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via aninput/output controller 2220. The computer also includes legacyinput/output units such as a ROM 2230 and a keyboard 2242, which areconnected to the input/output controller 2220 via an input/output chip2240.

The CPU 2212 operates in accordance with programs stored in the ROM 2230and the RAM 2214, and controls each unit accordingly. The graphicscontroller 2216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 2212 on a framebuffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or in the graphicscontroller 2216 itself, and displays the image data on the displaydevice 2218.

The communication interface 2222 communicates with other electronicdevices via a network. The hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and datato be used by the CPU 2212 in the computer 2200. The DVD-ROM drive 2226reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 2201, and provides the programsor data to the hard disk drive 2224 via the RAM 2214. The IC card drivereads the program and data from the IC card, and/or writes the programand data to the IC card.

The ROM 2230 has stored therein a boot program or the like to beexecuted by the computer 2200 at the time of activation, and/or aprogram that depends on the hardware of the computer 2200. Theinput/output chip 2240 may also connect various input/output units tothe input/output controller 2220 via a parallel port, a serial port, akeyboard port, a mouse port or the like.

Programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as the DVD-ROM2201 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readablemedium, installed on the hard disk drive 2224, the RAM 2214 or the ROM2230, which are also examples of a computer-readable medium, andexecuted by the CPU 2212. The information processing described in theseprograms is read into the computer 2200, resulting in cooperationbetween a program and the above-mentioned various types of hardwareresources. An apparatus or method may be constituted by realizing theoperation or processing of information in accordance with the usage ofthe computer 2200.

For example, if a communication is performed between the computer 2200and external devices, the CPU 2212 may execute a communication programloaded on the RAM 2214, and instruct the communication interface 2222 toperform communication process based on the process described in thecommunication program. Under the control of the CPU 2212, thecommunication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in atransmission buffer region provided in a recording medium such as theRAM 2214, the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card, andsends the read transmission data to the network, or writes receptiondata received from the network into a reception buffer region or thelike provided in the recording medium.

The CPU 2212 may also make all or required portions of the files ordatabases stored in an external recording medium such as the hard diskdrive 2224, the DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201) or an IC card to beread by the RAM 2214, and perform various types of processing on thedata on the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may be configured to write back theprocessed data to the external recording medium.

Various types of information such as various types of programs, data,tables and databases may be stored in the recording medium forinformation processing. The CPU 2212 may also be configured to executevarious types of processing on the data read from the RAM 2214, whichincludes various types of operations, processing of information,condition judging, conditional branching, unconditional branching,search/replacement of information and the like described in the presentdisclosure and designated by an instruction sequence of programs, and towrite the result back to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also beconfigured to search for information in a file, a database, etc., in therecording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries, each havingan attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attributevalue of a second attribute, are stored in the recording medium, the CPU2212 may search the plurality of entries for an entry whose attributevalue of the first attribute matches a designated condition, read theattribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and therebyacquire the attribute value of the second attribute associated with thefirst attribute that meets a predetermined condition.

The programs or software modules in the above description may be storedon the computer 2200 or a computer-readable medium near the computer2200. Furthermore, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a RAMprovided in a server system connected to a dedicated communicationnetwork or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable media, whichprovides programs to the computer 2200 via the network.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, thetechnical scope of the invention is not limited to the above describedembodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousalterations and improvements can be added to the above-describedembodiments. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that theembodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be includedin the technical scope of the invention.

The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performedby an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims,embodiments, or diagrams can be performed in any order as long as theorder is not indicated by “prior to,” “before,” or the like and as longas the output from a previous process is not used in a later process.Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as “first” or“next” in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams, it does not necessarilymean that the process must be performed in this order.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES

-   1: system,-   2: facility,-   4: apparatus,-   20: sensor,-   21: equipment,-   41: supplying unit,-   43: storage unit,-   401: acquisition unit,-   402: supplying unit,-   403: storage unit,-   404: input unit,-   405: labeling unit,-   406: setting unit,-   407: sign detection unit,-   408: identification unit,-   409: display control unit,-   410: display unit,-   430: measurement data file,-   431: model,-   432: correspondence table,-   2200: computer,-   2201: DVD-ROM,-   2210: host controller,-   2212: CPU,-   2214: RAM,-   2216: graphics controller,-   2218: display device,-   2220: input/output controller,-   2222: communication interface,-   2224: hard disk drive,-   2226: DVD-ROM drive,-   2230: ROM,-   2240: input/output chip,-   2242: keyboard

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an acquisition unitconfigured to acquire a plurality of types of measurement dataindicating a state of a target; a supplying unit configured to supply,in response to the plurality of types of measurement data being input,measurement data acquired by the acquisition unit to a model thatoutputs a state indication value indicating a quality of a state of thetarget; a setting unit configured to set, as data to be displayed, atleast one piece of measurement data, among the plurality of types ofmeasurement data, having a larger influence on the state indicationvalue than a reference; and a display control unit configured to displaythe state indication value output from the model along with ameasurement value of the data to be displayed.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured todisplay a representative value of a measurement value for each piece ofdata to be displayed when the target is in a good state, and ameasurement value of the data to be displayed together.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the display control unit is configured todisplay, for each of the data to be displayed, a representative valuethereof and a most recent measurement value as a graph.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the display control unit is configured todisplay a scale indicating reference divergence from the representativevalue in the graph.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesetting unit is configured to set, as the data to be displayed,measurement data of a reference number having a largest degree ofinfluence on the state indication value, among the plurality of types ofmeasurement data.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein thesetting unit is configured to set, as the data to be displayed,measurement data of a reference number having a largest degree ofinfluence on the state indication value, among the plurality of types ofmeasurement data.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesetting unit is configured to set, as the data to be displayed,measurement data having a larger degree of influence on the stateindication value than a preset reference degree, among the plurality oftypes of measurement data.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the setting unit is configured to set, as the data to bedisplayed, measurement data having a larger degree of influence on thestate indication value than a preset reference degree, among theplurality of types of measurement data.
 9. The apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the setting unit is configured to set, as the data tobe displayed, a representative value of a measurement value when thetarget is in a good state, and measurement data of a reference numberhaving a largest amount of deviation with a most recent measurementvalue, among the plurality of types of measurement data.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a labeling unitconfigured to provide each piece of measurement data measured at a timepoint specified by an operator with a label indicating a quality of astate of the target.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein themodel is configured to output the state indication value that is notbinarized into a value indicating that the target is in a good conditionand a value indicating that the target is in a poor state.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unitconfigured to detect a sign indicating that a state of the target isbecoming poor based on transition in the state indication value, whereinthe display control unit is configured to display that a sign has beendetected by the detection unit.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12,wherein the detection unit is configured to compare the state indicationvalue with a preset threshold to detect the sign.
 14. The apparatusaccording to claim 12, wherein the detection unit is configured tocompare a moving average of the state indication value with a presetthreshold to detect the sign.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 12,wherein the detection unit is configured to compare a distribution ofthe state indication value during a most recent period and a referencedistribution to detect the sign.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a storage unit configured to store an operation forimproving a measurement value of the measurement data in associationwith each type of measurement data; and an identification unitconfigured to identify a type of measurement data that caused a poorstate, as well as identify an operation associated with the type ofmeasurement data in the storage unit, in a case where the stateindication value indicates that the target is a poorer state than areference, wherein the display control unit is configured to furtherdisplay the operation identified by the identification unit.
 17. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target is a facility.
 18. Amethod comprising: setting, as data to be displayed, in response to aplurality of types of measurement data indicating a state of a targetbeing input, at least one piece of measurement data having a largerinfluence than a reference on a state indication value indicating aquality of a state of the target that is output from a model; acquiringthe plurality of types of measurement data; supplying, to the model, themeasurement data acquired in the acquiring step; and controlling displayby displaying the state indication value output from the model alongwith a measurement value of the data to be displayed.
 19. Acomputer-readable medium having recorded thereon a program that causes acomputer to function as: an acquisition unit configured to acquire aplurality of types of measurement data indicating a state of a target; asupplying unit configured to supply, in response to the plurality oftypes of measurement data being input, measurement data acquired by theacquisition unit to a model that outputs a state indication valueindicating a quality of a state of the target; a setting unit configuredto set, as data to be displayed, in response to a plurality of types ofmeasurement data indicating a state of a target being input, at leastone piece of measurement data having a larger influence on the stateindication value of a model that outputs the state indication valueindicating a quality of a state of the target than a reference; and adisplay control unit configured to display the state indication valueoutput from the model along with a measurement value of the data to bedisplayed.
 20. A computer-readable medium having recorded thereon aprogram that causes a computer to function as: a setting unit configuredto set, as data to be displayed, in response to a plurality of types ofmeasurement data indicating a state of a target being input, at leastone piece of measurement data having a larger influence on a stateindication value of a model that outputs the state indication valueindicating a quality of a state of the target than a reference; and adisplay control unit configured to display the state indication valueoutput from the model along with a measurement value of the data to bedisplayed.